No Worse Way
by BK Love-ah
Summary: Chicago, 1987. Tatum gets on Chucky's bad side, so he decides to teach her a lesson she'll take to the grave...which may not be too far into the future. This is a very dark story. Don't like, don't read. I DO NOT OWN THE CHILD'S PLAY SERIES, only my original characters. R&R!
1. Chapter 1

_**Hello, readers. This won't be a very long story, but still, I hope you like it. Here's chapter one =)**_

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_Chicago_

_May, 1987_

"Thanks, have a great day."

Tatum Deyers forced a polite smile as she took the bag of groceries and went out the door. She made sure to use two hands, since last time she went shopping, her items went flying because she just had to be holding a cigarette in her other hand.

After leaving the store, she made her way down the street as always. The same old people were lurking around. Tatum had pretty much gotten used to it. It was a pretty run-down town, after all.

However, as she continued down the walkway, someone peculiar caught her eye. A man was leaning against a chipped brick wall. He was wearing a three-piece grey suit, and the jacket was slung over his arm. A cigarette dangled from his mouth as he used his free hand to light it. The man was considerably tall with shoulder-length dark hair, appeared to be in his mid-thirties, and was toned in all the right places.

But as they locked eyes for a brief moment, what struck Tatum the most about him were his ice-blue eyes. She'd never seen eyes of that particular color before. To be honest, they scared her greatly. In another world, she might've thought this guy was kind of cute. But something about the way he looked at her with those eyes…

A shiver ran through her spine as she continued walking. Until she reached her house, she could've sworn his gaze was following her the whole time.

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Baby, is that you?"

"Yeah. Coming, Mom."

Tatum locked the door to their crumbling trailer before walking over to where her mother was lying in bed. The moment Thelma saw her daughter approaching her, she forced a weak smile, which was returned.

"I got you some soup," Tatum said, unpacking the groceries and placing them on the counter. "Doesn't everyone say it helps?"

"Everyone says a lot of things," the older woman muttered, slowly sitting up. "What's that smell?"

Tatum froze, remembering her mother's strong senses. Seeing right through her, Thelma looked sternly at her daughter.

"You've been smoking again, haven't you?"

"I'm sorry," Tatum said quietly, gradually resuming her unpacking. "I can't help it sometimes. There's not a lot to do around here."

"I know. But can't you find something else to do with your time? Maybe go see your friends?"

At this, Tatum scoffed.

"What friends? They all think I'm worthless for dropping out, so I don't really have any friends to hang out with."

As her daughter put the soup on the stove and turned the knob, Thelma stared at her. She blamed herself for destroying Tatum's future, since the girl felt obligated to take care of her after she got sick. No matter how many times she tried to persuade her to go back to school, she wouldn't hear anything of it. Now, all either of them wanted was for Thelma to get better.

_Oh, God, for her sake if nothing else, just cut me a break, huh?_

OOOOOOOOOOO

A few days later, Tatum was sitting on a bench next to a few bushes. She took a drag from her cigarette as she watched a few of her old classmates go by. Their not-so-subtle points and whispers didn't affect her too much anymore. After two years, she was used to it.

_What's so great about high school anyway?_

"You got a light?"

Tatum nearly jumped as she turned. Sitting next to her on the bench was the strange man she'd seen the other day. She hadn't even heard him take a seat.

"Wh-what?"

The man chuckled slightly, twiddling his own unlit smoke between his fingers.

"A light, you got one?"

"Oh, hold on…"

Tatum got her lighter and held it out towards him. However, instead of taking it, he put the cigarette to his lips and leaned forward a bit. After a moment, Tatum relented and clicked the lighter, holding the flame underneath the tip. Once it was releasing smoke, the man leaned back, exhaling a misty cloud.

Slightly rattled, Tatum clutched her handbag and started to get up. However, the man reached out and gently took her hand.

"Whoa, what're you running off for?" The girl hesitantly sat back down, her eyes glued to his. "I don't bite…unless you want me to."

The man released her hand, moving his arm to rest on the bench behind her shoulders. After taking another puff of his cigarette, he turned to look at Tatum.

"So what's your name, sweetheart?"

She glanced at him nervously for a moment before answering.

"T-Tatum."

"Pleased to meet you, Tatum. I'm Charles."

He flashed her a smile, but she couldn't help but be unnerved by it. Still, she made herself smile back slightly. When he scooted a bit closer to her, her heart skipped several beats.

"Hey, why so shy? I just wanna talk."

This was too much. Leaning away from Charles, Tatum prepared to take off.

"Look, I really should get going…"

"To where?" The girl froze. "Not to school, obviously."

She felt angry with this. Nothing would've made her happier than to be at school, but her mom's health didn't permit it. She immediately put out her smoke and went to get up, but Charles had other ideas. His cigarette had just his the ground by the time he had Tatum in his grasp. Using his foot to put it out, he tried to calm the struggling girl.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to piss you off. You just look a bit over the high school age."

Tatum glared at him.

"I'm _fifteen,_ thank you."

"Sorry, my mistake."

"I'm not looking for any apologies, you shouldn't even be talking to me. You look well over the high school age yourself!"

"Thirty-seven in a few months," Charles said, pride in his face.

"Okay, good-bye."

Tatum went to get up again, but the man tightened his grip.

"Come on, beautiful. Age is just a number."

"Please, I seriously have to go now…"

"Do you?" Tatum stared at him as he spoke. "'Cause you were looking awfully relaxed when I found you here. If you were in such a hurry, I don't think you'd be lounging about on a bench."

Embarrassed, Tatum looked down. Charles laughed softly, admiring her flushed cheeks.

"See? You can't lie to Chucky."

"I thought your name was Charles."

"It is, but my friends call me Chucky." As Tatum tried to look away, Chucky caught her chin in his free hand and turned her to face him. "Maybe we could be friends. What d'you say?"

His icy eyes pierced into Tatum's hazel ones, and for some weird reason, she felt that something was wrong with him. He was dangerous. There was something about what was in his _eyes_…

"I'm not really looking for any new friends."

Suddenly, the look in his eyes became darker. As he gripped her chin and started to lean his face towards hers, Tatum slapped his hand away. She pushed him back with both hands, and once his grip on her loosened, she immediately got up and hurried away from the bench.

"Fuck you, asshole!" she shouted before storming away.

Chucky stared after her, the fury building up inside of him. Nobody had ever rejected him, let alone had the guts to insult him like that. Of course, Tiffany was the only exception, as he and she were virtual copies of each other.

But this girl…who did she think she was, treating him like that when all he wanted to do was talk? That attitude had to be fixed right away, even if it meant…

He shivered with excitement as the thought flashed across his mind.

_Oh, Tatum…I'm gonna have some fun with you first…_

OOOOOOOOOOOO

"Tate, what's wrong?"

Tatum glanced at her mother across the bed as they poked at their dinners.

"Oh, nothing. Some creep was bugging me while I was out today, it's no big deal."

Thelma smiled knowingly. Unfortunately, such occurrences weren't a big surprise where they lived. There were shady people all over the place.

The phone suddenly rang. Thelma put her plate on the counter and walked over to answer it. After a couple minutes, she hung up and walked back towards the bed.

"Who was it?" asked Tatum.

"Oh, it's just Phil. He sounded a bit wasted, but I think he said he was going to come by later to pick up the trash."

"Ah, I see."

Thelma settled back onto the bed and retrieved her plate. At that moment, there was a rapping at their door.

"Oh, Christ," Thelma moaned, getting back up. "Sometimes I just want to throttle him."

Tatum smiled and looked down at her food. She was just happy her mom was able to walk. A few seconds later, she heard Thelma open the door. However, when she heard the door slam shut and her mother's screaming being muffled, she instantly turned. Her heart stopped.

Chucky stood next to the door, holding his hand over Thelma's mouth. His free hand clutched a knife and held it against the woman's throat. Tatum gasped in horror and jumped from the bed, looking for some sort of weapon.

"Try anything and she's dead," Chucky growled, pressing the blade firmly against Thelma's skin.

"Wait! _Stop!_" Tatum put her hands up, tears of panic filling her eyes. "Please, don't hurt her."

"Don't hurt her, you say? Well, it really hurt me when you ran off on me today. If you'd bothered to stick around and learn something about me, you'd know that I'm not one to tolerate rudeness."

"Well, let her go! She's not part of it!"

"Maybe not," Chucky said, "but if you're not careful, she could become part of it."

"Stop!" Tatum wailed, unable to think clearly. "Please, I'll do _anything!_ Just don't hurt her!"

Chucky stared at her, a grin forming on his face.

"So…you'll come on a little date with me, if I don't hurt her?"

The idea sickened Tatum, but she couldn't stand the horror in Thelma's eyes.

"Just a date?"

"Yep, just a date."

"…Fine."

Carefully moving his hand away from Thelma's mouth, Chucky extended it to Tatum. She reluctantly stepped forward. Then, once she was close enough, Chucky seized her arm and pulled her against him. As quickly as he had done so, he slit open Thelma's throat with one flick of the wrist.

Before Tatum could scream, Chucky's hand was over her mouth. She could only watch helplessly as her mother bled to death on the floor. Her body sagged in her grief, and if it hadn't been for Chucky's grip on her, she would've fallen over. After a few moments, the man carefully removed his hand, moving the bloody knife against the girl's neck.

"You…" she whispered, "you…you _promised_ you wouldn't…"

Replacing his hand over Tatum's mouth, Chucky leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"I lied."

With that, he dragged her out the door.

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_**Let me know what you think.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**And here's chapter 2. Things are going to be quite dark and evil from here on out, so beware. With that said, read on!**_

**Muse of suffering-**** Thanks, I'm so glad you like it! I hope you enjoy this one as well =)**

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It was only after being forced into the passenger seat of Chucky's car when Tatum finally broke out of her shock. Once her kidnapper hopped in front and started the ignition, a horrid sob broke free from her. She immediately went to get out, but Chucky held his knife against her throat while keeping one hand on the wheel.

"Careful," he said, looking at her murderously. "It's not safe to get out of a moving car."

Terrified and grief-stricken, Tatum leaned back and tried to calm herself. As the tears streamed from her eyes, she didn't make a sound.

Once confident the girl wouldn't try anything else, Chucky lowered the knife and focused on the road. For the rest of the time, it was completely silent.

When they pulled into the parking lot for a local pizza joint, Tatum became confused.

"Wh-what're you doing?"

Chucky turned off the ignition and unbuckled the seatbelt.

"We're going on a date, remember?"

The girl could only wrap her arms around herself as Chucky came around and opened the passenger door, pulling her out. He wrapped a possessive arm around her waist and led her towards the restaurant.

"Now, I don't want you making any trouble, okay?" he asked, casually lifting one end of his coat.

Tatum glanced down. Her heart raced rapidly as she saw the gun protruding from the man's pants pocket. Despite her fear, she managed to contain herself as they walked through the door.

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Why so quiet?"

Tatum stared down at her uneaten pizza, while Chucky was finishing his second slice. Once he was done, he lightly tapped the girl's foot with his underneath the table.

"Hello?" he prodded in a slight singsong voice. "You awake?"

"Don't fucking touch me," Tatum whispered.

At this, Chucky's expression became very dangerous.

"I'd watch that attitude. I'm not the kind of guy one messes with. You should've learned that by now."

Tears filled Tatum's eyes as she thought of her mother, all alone on the floor of their trailer in a pool of her own blood. Despite her captor's warnings, she couldn't help but shoot him a hateful look.

"Don't look at me like that," Chucky said with a small chuckle. "This all could've been avoided had you been a little nicer. You've nobody to blame but yourself."

"You didn't have to do what you did. I would've kept my word. We would've gone out, and then I could've gone back home and forgotten this whole thing."

With an unsettling smile, Chucky stared at her.

"Ah, but you see, that's just it. You won't be forgetting this, just as you won't be going back home. I decided all this the moment you left me by that bench."

Tatum suddenly felt numb.

"So…so you were going to kill her anyways?"

Chucky took a sip of his drink before answering.

"Sweetie, you do know who I am, right?"

"You said your name was Chucky."

"True, but d'you know my full name?" The girl shook her head, and Chucky leaned forward, bringing his voice down. "Charles Lee Ray."

Tatum's heart skipped several beats. She'd seen that name in the papers. Some psychopath had recently started terrorizing Chicago with a series of murders. He never left a trace, but he did leave a taunting note next to his victims; they were all signed Charles Lee Ray.

As the man got the check, Tatum wrapped her arms tightly around herself, fear unlike anything else overcoming her. She barely noticed it when Chucky helped her from her seat and escorted her back to the car.

_ He's a serial killer…oh, Jesus, I'm gonna fucking die…_

It was only after about another twenty minutes, when the car pulled into a strange driveway in a patch of woods and stopped in front of a shifty-looking house, that she finally came to her senses and started to scream.

"_Help me!_" she wailed, opening the door. "Someone, _please!_"

"Shut up!"

Chucky grabbed her and put a hand over her mouth.

"We're in the middle of nowhere. You might as well save your breath for later. Trust me, you'll need it."

All Tatum could do was allow the tears to fall from her eyes as she was dragged into the house.

OOOOOOOOOO

Chucky shoved her to the floor and slammed the door behind him, locking it. He went over and turned on a few of the lamps. Just as he was about to flip the switch for the last one, he turned towards Tatum, who was trying to open the door. In an instant, he yanked her away and backhanded her harshly across the face.

"Sit down," he growled, forcing her into a nearby chair.

Tatum silently wept to herself as the rest of the house was gradually illuminated. Her face was throbbing, and she was sure she tasted blood on her lip. After a few more minutes, Chucky came back in. He took off his suit jacket and laid it over the back of another chair before turning back to Tatum. The girl flinched as he kneeled in front of her and took her face into his hands.

"See what you made me do?" he asked almost gently. "I don't wanna have to bang up your pretty little face."

As he spoke, Tatum glanced around. It looked like she was in a kitchen. There was a refrigerator and stove, along with a wooden table with two chairs, one of which she was sitting on. The nearby hallway door was a bit too narrow for her to see the rest of the place.

Suddenly, Chucky grabbed her chin and roughly pulled her to face him.

"You look at me while I'm talking to you."

Tatum reluctantly complied, staring into Chucky's blue eyes. After a moment, his face softened.

"Good girl," he said with a smile. "You're catching on fast. But you've still got a lot to learn."

"What do you mean?"

Without answering, Chucky took her hand and walked through the doorway, making her trail along behind him.

"Nice, isn't it?" he asked in an upbeat voice. "I don't live here, of course. It's just a nice, quiet, and empty place for me to…relax a bit."

Tatum felt a chill run down her spine, but she tried to ignore it.

Before long, they were in another room. It was completely bare, with the exception of a large bed and a nightstand beside it. The only source of light came from a small lamp on top of the stand. Upon seeing this, a horrid scenario filled Tatum's mind, and she instantly turned to run.

"No!" she screamed as Chucky dragged her towards the bed. "Let go of me!"

"Ah-ah-ah, quit your squirming. You're not going anywhere."

After a few moments, Chucky was able to overpower Tatum and sit her down on the bed. He immediately sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her before she could even think of escaping.

"Oh, God," Tatum whimpered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Let me go, please…"

Chucky dabbed some of the tears away with his thumb before speaking.

"Now, now, crying won't do you a bit of good. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Overcome with fear, Tatum stared at the man with great apprehension.

"If I were you," Chucky continued, "I'd just relax. You'll want to save your strength. After all, you're in for a _very_ long night."

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_**Let me know what you think.**_


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